Mikel Arteta had good and bad news in his squad update ahead of Arsenal’s first Premier League game back against West Ham United.

France's defender #17 William Saliba warms up before the start of the Qatar 2022 World Cup round of 16 football match between France and Poland at the Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha on December 4, 2022. (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP via Getty Images)
France’s defender #17 William Saliba warms up before the start of the Qatar 2022 World Cup round-of-16 football match between France and Poland at the Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha on December 4, 2022. (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP via Getty Images)

With Arsenal’s first competitive fixture in over a month now just a few days away, it’s become a race against time for their remaining absentees to get fit.

The good news is that William Saliba is expected back in training today, following his run to the World Cup final with France – and subsequent visit to Paris to greet supporters.

Arteta also had a positive update on Emile Smith Rowe, who is now close to returning despite a previous minor setback.

“Emile is close, he is starting to train again,” Arteta said. “He had a little setback but he is in a good place.

“We’ve done a lot of things with Emile – sometimes he’s been very close [to the squad], sometimes he’s been in different places to see different environments, but his attitude has been great.”

The bad news is that Reiss Nelson is set to miss at least a few weeks of football following the injury he suffered in the friendly against Juventus.

“Reiss, unfortunately, picked up an injury in the game against Juventus and he is going to be out for a while I think,” Arteta continued.

“I’m talking about weeks. Let’s see how he reacts to the next few days but he felt something straight away and with sprinters, that’s not a good sign.”

LONDON, ENGLAND: Reiss Nelson of Arsenal receives treatment for a leg injury during the friendly between Arsenal and Juventus at Emirates Stadium on December 17, 2022. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: Reiss Nelson of Arsenal receives treatment for a leg injury during the friendly between Arsenal and Juventus at Emirates Stadium on December 17, 2022. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

The one minor positive in that last update is that Arteta isn’t yet talking about months for Nelson.

It’s not uncommon for muscle injuries to leave players out for much longer than a few weeks, so let’s keep our fingers crossed this one isn’t so serious.

Elsewhere, there’s no timeline yet on Gabriel Jesus’ return, and we’re still waiting to see whether or not Oleksandr Zinchenko will be involved against West Ham on Monday. The rest of the squad should be available.